The Goal: Smooth Frame Pacing

People chase high FPS, but what you feel is frame pacing. Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) helps your monitor match the game’s output.

What These Terms Mean

• V-Sync: Locks frames to the monitor refresh rate to prevent tearing, but can add latency.
• G-SYNC / FreeSync: VRR technologies that reduce tearing and stutter by syncing refresh rate to FPS.

The Safe Default Setup (Most People)

1. Enable G-SYNC/FreeSync in your monitor OSD.
2. Enable VRR in your GPU control panel.
3. Use an in-game FPS cap slightly below refresh rate.

Examples:

• 60Hz monitor → cap at 58–59
• 144Hz monitor → cap at 141–142
• 165Hz monitor → cap at 162–163

Do You Still Need V-Sync?

In many setups, VRR + a cap is enough.

If you still see tearing at the top edge, try enabling V-Sync in the control panel while keeping the in-game V-Sync off (it varies by game).

Common Mistakes

• Uncapped FPS with VRR (can exceed VRR range)
• Multiple caps fighting each other (RTSS + in-game + driver)
• Chasing max refresh in games where 1% lows can’t keep up

If you post your monitor model + GPU + game, people can recommend the cleanest setup for your case.